Hurricane Common Sense Survival Guide

Hurricane Common Sense Survival Guide

With superstorm Sandy about to hit the east coast, I figured it be a good time to share some easy ways to, ya know, not die in a hurricane! I took a few natural disaster survival classes not too long ago, and basically, it just boils down to this – if it seems like it might be a bad idea, it’s best not to do it.

1) Take the stairs! Especially if you live in a high rise building, get low, but don’t take the elevator. Because hurricanes can cause tornados and super high winds, it’s recommended to get on floor 10 or lower. Plus, most stairwells don’t have windows and have more sound architectural structure, so they are really a good place to start a Monopoly game and hang out for awhile.

2) Keep the water sports to a mimimum! While tubular waves may seem perfect for surfing, extreme jetskiing, or any number of fun water time activities, there is a time and a place for everything and a hurricane is not that time. Living on the edge is one thing; not living at all is another very closely-related thing.

3)Your car is not a boat! I grew up in an area where there is tons of rain, and often stupidly tried to drive through roads covered in water. NOT SMART – especially during a hurricane. Just over one foot of rushing water can be enough to sweep away a Mini or Miata, and unless you have super powers, there is no way you can tell how deep that mini river is. Or even worse! There may be a broken power line that will fry both you and your car. Not a fun way to go.

4) Don’t hold a post-hurricane seance – While talking to spirits in a time of crisis may seem a cool, albeit creepy, idea, lighting candles is not. After any natural disaster, a gas leak can be a huge threat. Any small flame can ignite something similar to a high level mage’s fireball spell, so please take heed. Flashlights are amazing devices.

5) Listen to Obama! – Much like the good mojo induced by the Statue of Liberty in Ghostbusters II, more people will live if we heed El Presidente’s advice and work together. He said, “In times like this, one of the things that Americans do is we pull together and we help out one another. And so, there may be elderly populations in your area. Check on your neighbor, check on your friend. Make sure that they are prepared. If we do, then we’re going to get through this storm just fine.”

In all seriousness, Sandy could really do some damage. I grew up on the East Coast and all of my family is still there. Let’s hope we are all over-preparing and that Mother Nature takes it easy on us this time around. Feel free to post more survival tips here and spread the word so everyone can benefit! Let’s all help however we can, right?

Thanks for posting. Seriously, water is a huge issue. If you have a well and lose power, won’t get water. If you have city water and the water treatment plant loses power or the water becomes contaminated due to flooding, you still won’t have water. Fill enough water in clean, closed containers for drinking water and then fill some buckets or containers you don’t really care about for flushing your toilet. Depends on where you live if you should fill your tub or not. If you are expecting to get hit by high winds, leave your tub empty and keep helmets and a mattress nearby. You can always get in the tub with a helmet on and put a mattress over you if you are afraid of your roof collapsing. The tub is one of the safest places for hurricane winds. Make sure you have plenty of canned goods that don’t require heat to eat.

AND FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS HOLY, DON’T TRY AND GO ANYWHERE OR DRIVE! Unless you are evacuating like you are supposed to during the time they tell you. By staying on purpose if you are told to evacuate, you are putting rescuers in danger trying to get to you provided they can even get to you. If you get in a car and try to drive when you aren’t supposed to, you could get hit by flash flooding and get stuck.

I read a tip somewhere (reddit?) about putting a bowl in your freezer and putting some ice cubes in it. If when the weather has calmed down you still have ice cubes in the bowl your food is fine. If it’s water or it’s frozen in the shape of the bowl you need to throw out anything that can spoil because it did.